An image object or object movie is a sequence of images of a three-dimensional object. Each image is a snapshot of an orientation of the object from a viewpoint. Production of an object movie entails acquiring or generating the sequence of images. This is typically done either by means of a camera which photographs the object from different viewpoints, or by means of a computer which renders synthetic images by simulating a camera. For computerized viewing of the object movie it is necessary that the images be in digital form. Thus if the camera used is not a digital camera, it is also necessary to digitize the images photographed, for download to a computer. Digitization is typically done through use of a scanner.
The simplest object movie consists of a sequence of images of the object acquired by photographing the object from different viewpoints encircling it. Equivalently, the same sequence of images can be photographed from a fixed viewpoint, but with the object in different orientations. For example, the object could be rotating on a turntable. The latter is a more common acquisition method.
Once acquired (and digitized, if necessary) and downloaded to a computer, the images comprising an object movie can then be displayed in sequence on a computer monitor in response to user input commands, in such a way that it appears that the user is manipulating the object.
During image acquisition, the tilt (i.e., elevation angle) of the physical or computer-simulated camera need not be horizontal with respect to the ground plane on which the object is resting, nor need it be constant. Several rotating sequences of photographs of an object taken with the camera at different tilt angles can be combined to provide the user with an experience of being able to rotate and tilt the object, thus providing an extra degree of freedom.
It is not necessary that the images reside on the user's computer. In fact, current client/server Internet applications operate by storing the images on a server computer, and allowing a user to interactively view the object movie on a client computer. The server computer sends to the client computer via the Internet whatever data is necessary for the client computer to be able to display the image requested by the user, in response to interactive user commands.
Systems for interactive viewing of object movies over the Internet are described in co-pending U.S. patent applications: Ser. No. 08/788,830, filed Jan. 6, 1997 and entitled METHOD AND SYSTEMS FOR SCALABLE REPRESENTATION OF MULTIMEDIA DATA FOR PROGRESSIVE ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSMISSION; Ser. No. 08/813,181, filed Mar. 7, 1997 and entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENCODING MOVIES, PANORAMAS AND LARGE IMAGES FOR ON-LINE INTERACTIVE VIEWING AND GAZING; and Ser. No. 08/850,690, filed May 2, 1997 and entitled A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING ON-LINE INTERACTIVITY OVER A SERVER-CLIENT NETWORK. The contents of the patent applications referred to in this paragraph are all hereby incorporated by reference.